


Welcome to the Show

by Dreamgalaxy



Series: Welcome to the Show: Five Nights at Freddy's [1]
Category: Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: I Will Go Down With This Ship, Other, You'll understand later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 21:03:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4494624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamgalaxy/pseuds/Dreamgalaxy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Courtney Berrios never actually expected to become friends with animatronics. She also never expected to be adopted by a man who's wimpier than half of the girls at her school. The last thing she never expected was to escape a gruesome murder.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 20 Dollar Nosebleed

**Author's Note:**

> ~All of the chapters in this fanfic are going to be named after songs in my music folder.~

The sixth grade hallway is quiet - almost too quiet for the afternoon. There should be more people out here, shouldn't there?

I recently just started the sixth grade off the wrong way - I have no friends whatsoever. I don't know where it started. The bullying? The betrayal of my so called "best friend?" Or maybe it started when I thought that I couldn't trust anyone. Actually - that still applies to my life.

I crouch onto my knees and start doing my combination to my new locker. It's a lower one, which means that I could possibly get hit in the head with one of those freakin' two pound textbooks. I already got a lock thrown at my back, and trust me, it hurts more than you think it does.

My locker opens with a loud creak, and the other five people in the hallway look at me. I try to hide myself by taking my black messenger bag out of my locker and putting my books into it. Honestly, I already have a lot of homework for just starting off in the sixth grade.

I nervously walk back into the classroom, where everyone else is already laughing, talking, sitting on desks, and playing on their phones. I sit down at my seat in the first row. That's what I hate about my last name - it starts with a B, which means I'm the first one for almost everything, even seating charts. But, thank God for seating charts.

I take my phone out of the secret bag in my backpack and unlock it, only to see a text message from my mom.

"Your father and I are going out to dinner. Fend for yourself." It says.

"Thanks, mom..." I grumble as I put my phone back into my backpack. As I do, the bell rings and everyone rushes to get out of the classroom while I'm being pushed to the back of the line. Man, I hate being the skinny kid.

I step outside into the late summer heat, where people are in groups talking to their friends that are on other buses. I glance at all of them, wondering where I'd fit in. Probably with the group to my left side.

The whole group is made up of girls, but they seem pretty cool with each other. I know all of their names. Alena, Ashtyn, Tara, Trinity, Kayla, and Sandra. I know for a fact that Alena rides my bus, I just never talk to her.

My bus, 845, finally arrives and pulls up. I quickly make my way to the front of the line, because if you're the first one on the bus it's good pickings for seats. I sit down in seat 18, the seat in the middle of the bus. The high schoolers can't possibly yell at me for being in the middle, can they?

I sit down and slide to the window seat, clutching my backpack tightly. I set it in my lap, mainly because the only reason why someone would sit by me on the bus is because they have two other friends sitting in the seat beside it, and my bus driver has pretty strict rules on three-seaters. 

No one sits beside me today, so I take my phone and earbuds out of my backpack and set it beside me.

I put my music on shuffle and Fall Out Boy's 20 Dollar Nosebleed starts playing. I lip-sync to the words while looking out the window.

"Have you ever wanted to disappear?" Yes, I mentally answer. "And join a monastery, go out and preach on Maniac Street? Who will I be when I wake up next to a stranger, on a passenger plane, passenger plane?"

I smile as I listen to the rest of my songs, the only thing that's keeping my mental stability from plummeting.

As I get off of the bus and start walking home, I notice Alena walking behind me on her phone. I suppose she's talking to one of her friends, but who am I to assume that?

As I'm walking by all of the shops and restaurants in Main Street, I notice a new one, one that suspiciously wasn't here a couple weeks ago. Wait, if it was here all those weeks, how could I have not noticed the construction going on? You know what, I'll answer that question later.

This new restaurant looks like a knockoff Chuck-e-Cheese, but it's called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. Plus, the animatronics here seem creepier than the ones at Chuck-e-Cheese.

I look at both sides of the street to see if anyone's walking near me, and I don't see anyone. Out of curiosity, I look into one of the windows to see what's going on in there.

All I see right now is three animatronics on the stage - a bear, a rabbit, and a chicken - and I see loads of children in there eating pizza or just chilling out near the stage where the animatronics are performing. I can't hear anything, so these must be some pretty good sound proof walls.

My stomach growls. "Oh come on, body!" I mutter. "I know I've been craving pizza these past few days, but I don't have any money!"

I look in again, and my stomach immediately growls again. Okay, I give in. I nervously walk into the building, only to have my eardrums burst by all of the screaming, talking, and laughing that the kids are doing. But on the bright-side, the pizza smells awesome and I'm hungry for it.

As I sit down at the empty table closest to the door, a new animatronic comes out onto the stage. "A-ahoy m-mateys!" It occurs to me that this animatronic is a pirate... But a pirate what? I glance up at the stage to see that it's a... Pirate... Fox? Well, interesting combination.

"M-me n-name is Cap-captain F-Foxy!" He stutters. Uh-oh... Animatronics aren't supposed to stutter, are they?

Instead of ordering food like my stomach wants me to, I pay attention to what the fox - or Foxy - is doing. His movements are delayed and either fast or slow, he stutters a lot with his voice-box speeding up, slowing down, and sometimes turning to static. This really, really doesn't sound good.

I try to get a look at the front of the crowd, where a boy around five or six years old is trying to climb onto the stage and get a closer look at Foxy while his mother does absolutely nothing about it.

"W-wha-what ar-are ye do-doing lad...?" Foxy questions when the kid successfully gets onto the stage. Other kids are pointing and laughing at the boy while management tries to convince him to get down.

"Kid you could get hurt!" A blonde haired teenager shouts, urgency in his chestnut brown eyes. The kid doesn't reply, just tries to climb all over Foxy.

And then I blink, causing everyone to scream in panic. No, just kidding about that, but I guess now is not actually the time for jokes!

Foxy bites down onto the boy's head, and everyone starts to scream. The teenager from earlier is in a panic, now climbing on top of the stage to pry Foxy off of the kid. He does, but results in breaking Foxy's jaw.

I stare at the bloody scene, wide-eyed. I never expected to see this today... I don't think I want pizza anymore.

I get out of the chair that I was sitting in and head towards the door, glancing back one last time at the horrific scene. And then I see Foxy, looking upset, confused, and scared. 

I quickly open the door and start heading back to my house.

When I get back, my mom and dad are in the living room wearing their best clothes. "Where have you been!?" My mom asks, standing up from the couch. "Your father and I were supposed to leave ten minutes ago! And, why are you wearing that stupid sweatshirt in the middle of summer!?" She asks, referring to the gray hoodie I'm wearing.

"Geez, I didn't know you were in a rush. Sorry." I start heading upstairs to my small bedroom and set my backpack on my desk chair. I head toward my window seat and sit down, and just stare out the window.


	2. A Little Less Sixteen Candles A Little More Touch Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Courtney meets Mike Schmidt, and he takes her to work with him. The animatronics seem to already partly know Courtney, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~AN: The beginning of this fanfic takes place in August 2014 and then it goes on!~

It's finally Saturday! Which means that I get to sit down and use the internet all day! And, don't worry, it's a normal thing for me.

As I'm logging on to my computer, I notice my mom walking past my room, and she's on the phone. "Please, Mike! I need someone to take care of her these next couple of days. Why can't you take her to work with you?" Silence. "Thank you, Mike! She's pretty quiet, so she won't cause you that much trouble."  
I walk into my mom's office and stand in the doorway. She's sitting down in her office chair and putting her phone back into her purse. "Who was that?" I ask.

"Oh, just an old friend of your sister. I was just seeing if he would take care of you these next two weeks while your father and I are on vacation."  
"Wait, you and dad? What about me?"  
"Sweetie, you have school. Maybe when you're on summer vacation again we can take you with us!"  
I sigh. "Alright... But, I don't even know Mike. And, why does he have to take care of me? Can't I be by myself?"  
"Honey, you know that your father and I can't leave you alone. That's why we're having Mike take care of you! He'll be picking you up tomorrow night at 11:50, and that's how it's going to be for the next two weeks!"

"Why 11:50? Shouldn't he be here during the day as well?"

"Oh, he has some job at that new pizza place... What was it called again?"

Wait, is my mom talking about the place that I went to yesterday? The one where I watched a kid get his head bit off? "Freddy Fazbear's Pizza?" I suggest.

"Yes, that's it! How did you know?"  
"I was going to get some food there yesterday for dinner, but then something came up and I left." Hopefully she doesn't ask why I left.

"So that's why you were late! You could have just told us instead of saying sorry..."

I shrug. "So... Why does Mike have to take care of me at night?"

"Well, the plan is that Mike will take you to work with him tomorrow night, and then you can stay at his house the rest of the time. He's also going to make sure that you get your homework done, so that your grades don't plummet the way that they did last year."

"Can't he drop me off at his house and then go to work?" I ask.

"No, he said something about not wanting to be late on his first night."

I nod. "Okay, thanks for giving me this information..." I walk back into my room as my mom goes down the stairs. As I sit down back at my computer, my phone vibrates from it's place on my night stand. I groan. "I literally just sat down!"

I walk to my nightstand and look at the text message I received. "Don't go there." This could mean one of two things: either this unknown number doesn't want me to go someplace, or it's telling me to not sass somebody. Whichever one it is, they can't tell me what to do!

Well, now I have to wait until tomorrow for anything actually interesting to happen.

 

~ Time Skip, yo~

It's ten minutes before this "Mike" guy comes to pick me up, and I have my bag all ready and packed. Still, my only question is why he has to take me to work with him tonight. I'm sitting outside on the steps of the front porch, watching cars pass by in the late night.

Finally, a black car pulls up. I can't tell what Mike looks like because the car is fucking dark, so I could possibly get kidnapped.

I nervously run to the car, gripping my bag with my right hand. I try to open the car door, but to my dismay it's locked. Thanks, Mike. Mike unlocks it and I finally get in.

I immediately know that Mike is a nerd. He has pitch black, messy hair that's in an attempted mo-hawk, wide, ice blue eyes that seem to say "How did I wind up taking care of an eleven year old," and a Black Veil Brides t-shirt. I think the t-shirt is the only thing I like about Mike right now.

"Sorry for not unlocking the door," He says. I open my mouth, but close it, feeling extremely awkward. "Sheesh, your mom was right when she said that you're quiet."

I nod, and continue looking forward. He doesn't know how much I want to say something, but I feel like I can't. How the frick does he know my sister? How old is he? Did they go to the same school or something?  
"So, your sister has told me a lot about you," He says. "Of course you were six at the time, but you know... I know that your favorite color is pink..."  
Oh, Mike. "It's... It's actually green..." I say quietly.

"What?" Mike asks. "Sorry, Courtney, I didn't hear you."

"My favorite color is green," I say, my voice slightly cracking. Way to embarrass myself! Way to go, me!

"Really? Mine is black. She also told me that you like growing out your hair, but I guess that's not true anymore, because your hair is so short." I self consciously stroke the curly, dark brown bob that comes down to my ears. "I didn't mean to offend you," Mike says. "But, I do think that you'd look good with longer hair."  
"O-okay..."  
"Here we are!" Mike says, pulling up to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. It seems so odd when there aren't any people there! Mike gets out of the car, and I follow him.

"This is where you're going to be working?" I mumble. "It seems so creepy..."

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about it too much," Mike replies. "The manager here said that it would be just fine."

I nod, and follow Mike into the pizzeria. The three animatronics from Friday are on the stage, but I have no idea where Foxy is.

"Crap..." Mike mutters. "Where did he say my office is?" I follow him down a hallway, and immediately notice a stage with purple curtains concealing it. There's a sign outside of the stage as well, and it says "SORRY! OUT OF ORDER!" Could this possibly be where Foxy was put away at? I don't know, I'll deal with it later.

I follow Mike down another hallway, this one with dim, flickering lights. "There it is!" Mike says, speeding up his pace. Because Mike is so friggin' tall, I have to jog just to keep up with him.

His office is small, and has your basic office stuff. He has a desk, swivel chair, tablet...? And monitors? "Mike, what kind of job are you working?" I ask.

"I'm a night guard!" Mike replies, sitting down in the swivel chair. "Also, I hope you don't mind if I pick you up at the bus stop, you know, just to not embarrass you in front of your friends."  
Oh, Mike, I don't have any friends. "Y-yeah it's fine."

"Alright, great. Oh, hey, it's 12! It's time for my shift to start."  
"Wh-what time does your shift end?"  
"Six A.M."  
WHAT!? I wake up at six A.M! 

The phone starts to ring, and Mike doesn't answer it. Finally, the machine picks up. "Hello, hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine. So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay?"

Mike chuckles. "See? The guy says that there's nothing to worry about!"  
"Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Uh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, "Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced." 

"Damage or death?" I repeat. "Oh my God, how does my sister know you?"  
"We met in Junior year..." Mike says.

"Blah blah blah, now that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about. Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay."  
"What does he mean by "quirky at night?" Mike asks. I shrug.

"So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh...Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too. But then there was The Bite of '87. Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know? "

"The Bite of '87!? There's been two bites so far!?" 

"Two!?" Mike asks. "When did the second one happen!?"

"Friday afternoon! Why do you think that there'a an animatronic put away?"   
"I just thought that he was malfunctioning or something!"  
"Wait - did that guy say frontal lobe?" I ask. Mike's and my eyes widen.

"Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll p-most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to...forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Um, now, that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort...and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh."

"Can I use you as a human shield if they come after us?" I ask.

"Your sister never mentioned that you're willing to sacrifice someone!" Mike says, finally using the tablet that was on his desk.

"Mike, I'm not six!"  
"Y-Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up. But hey, first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night."  
"That guy talked for two fucking hours..." Mike mutters. "Hey, Courtney?" He asks.

"Yeah?"  
"Do you know where Bonnie is?"  
"Who the frick frack is Bonnie?" I ask.

"He's the purple bunny... I thought you were here on Friday?"  
"Yeah, for like, ten minutes."

"Great... Where is he?" Mike mutters. As he does whatever the frick he's doing, I set my bag on the floor, take my phone out, and sit on my bag. I'm not actually sure if the animatronics here are actually going to kill us, but hey, at least I'll have my Fall Out Boy minutes in before they do!

My music is still on shuffle from Friday afternoon, and the song that's playing now is A Little Less Sixteen Candles A Little More Touch Me. Man, that's a long song title!

"I don't blame you, for being you, but you can't blame me for hating it, so say what are you waiting for, kiss her, kiss her. I set my clocks early 'cause I know I'm always late." I get interrupted by Mike throwing an empty soda cup at me.

"My God, what!?" I ask, practically ripping the earbuds out of my ears.

"I didn't check Pirate Cove and now there's an animatronic fox running down the hallway what do I do!?" Mike says quickly.

"Close the door!" I shout at him.

"But Phone Guy said if it's only necessary!"  
"It's necessary when you're going to die, Mike!"

Before Mike can come up with another stupid reason to not close the door, the pirate fox from Friday afternoon leans into the room and makes a deafening screech.


	3. Welcome To The Family

Before Mike can come up with another stupid reason to not close the door, the pirate fox from Friday afternoon leans into the room and makes a deafening screech.

I cringe at the terrible noise as the fox takes Mike, ultimately ignoring me. I jump up and run out into the hall, following the fox that's dragging my caretaker down the hallway. Mike right now is screaming bloody murder, all while I'm thinking should have closed the door.

With no other choice, I do the one thing that I've been wanting to do. I yell. "HEY!" I yell after Foxy. "PUT HIM DOWN!!"

Foxy stops in his tracks, and I don't know if I made a mistake yelling or not. But, I stand my ground. I stand taller, and clench my fists out of nervousness.

He eerily turns around, still dragging Mike. Remind me to yell at Mike for not closing the goddamn door.

It stays silent for a moment until Foxy starts speaking. "I know who ye are..." He says in a low voice, and oddly enough he's not stuttering. "Yer the one who walked out of the door. I watched ye."

My mind quickly flashes back to when Foxy had that scared look on his face. Okay, two questions, why is Mike being so quiet in all of this, and why is Foxy being more intelligent than the average animatronic?

"Okay," I say. "Drop the nerd." Foxy releases the collar of Mike's black t-shirt, and now Mike is laying on the floor, nonspeaking. "Now, why did you look at me like that? I'm not some sort of chosen one, so don't you dare say that."  
"I won't," Foxy says, coming closer to me, and he's way taller than me. Why was I made to be so short? "But, yer not supposed to be here after hours, lass."

"The guy that you just tried to kill is my caretaker," I explain in my most calm voice, even though I feel like screaming.

Foxy glances at Mike, and then back at me. "Where are yer parents?"  
"Somewhere in the Bahamas." I say. "Now stop treating me like I'm six. I know that this isn't the way that you'd speak to anyone else. So, answer my question. Why did you look at me like that?"  
"Ye seemed like ye could solve a problem like that, and I didn't understand why ye didn't."  
"What are you talking about!? I am an innocent eleven year old Puerto Rican who just wanted some pizza!"

"I've seen ye before," Foxy says, completely ignoring what I had just said. "Where did ye have yer fifth birthday party, lass?"  
How am I supposed to remember that!? "I don't know!"

"Mangle," Foxy says, obviously trying to refresh my memory with something that I don't remember. "Toy Chica?" He tries. "Do ye not remember me?"  
"No!"Foxy looks hurt. Whoops, sometimes I have a habit with accidentally hurting people's feelings. "I'm sorry if I don't remember you, Foxy."

He sadly turns around and goes down the hallway. I walk over to Mike and nudge him with my combat boot. "Mike!" 

"Dude, you don't remember your fifth birthday? Your sister was there, and so was I, but that doesn't matter. Foxy was your best friend."

"Now you tell me this?" I ask. "And just earlier, weren't you telling me that you've never seen me before and that you met my sister in your junior year?" 

Mike closes his eyes. "I kind of didn't want you to remember this place."  
"THEN WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME THIS!?" I yell at him. "Why didn't you want me to remember!?"  
Mike stays quiet. "Because of the bad things that happened here,"  
I'm starting to get angry. What "bad things!?" Why did Mike not want me to know about this place? What is going on!?

"Let's just get through the rest of the night," I say, unsuccessfully pulling him up off of the floor.

"Are you alright?" He asks. "You know, I would've told you in the first place, but I wasn't sure how you would have reacted."  
"It's fine, Mike." I lie, walking with him back to the office. He sits back down in his swivel chair and picks the tablet back up from its place on the floor.

"I can't believe this thing isn't shattered..." Mike mutters. "Hey, Courtney!" He says.

"What?" I ask, sitting back down on my bag. 

"I found Bonnie! He's in the Supply Closet!"  
"Ah, yes. Funny how you found him right after we almost died!"

"I thought you were the shy one?" Mike questions, chuckling lightly.

"I-" You know what, I'm not going to finish that sentence. I unlock my phone to see that it's 5:27 A.M, which means that Mike's almost done with his shift.

"Can you check the left light?" Mike asks. "I can't find Bonnie."

"Why can't you check it?" I ask. "You're closer to the doors." 

Mike sighs and checks the left light, but I hear him jump back in his seat. I look up to see Bonnie at the door. "Mike, we went over this!"

"Give me the kid." Bonnie says, his voice gangster-like. He seemed a lot more friendlier when he was on the stage.

"I can't actually do that," Mike says.

"Give me. The kid." Bonnie repeats, already getting irritated. 

"I'm not her legal parent or guardian, so if you kill her, I could possibly go to jail..."

"Give her to me!" Bonnie snaps.

"Okay, okay!" Mike says. You're a weakling, Mike. He looks at me with his wide ice blue eyes, signaling me to go. I narrow my honey brown ones in anger at him. Bonnie steps into the room and takes my skinny wrist. He has a pretty tight grip, and boy I'm surprised that it's not broken yet. Is Mike trying to kill me?  
Bonnie drags me to the Dining Area, where Foxy, and the other two animatronics are sitting at one of the tables. He forcefully sets me down in a chair.

"Thank you, Bonnie." The bear says. "Do you know where you are, young lady?"

I don't reply, mainly because these animatronics are as intelligent as the average adult, and I don't understand why I didn't notice this earlier. All four of the animatronics stare at me with their glowing eyes. How the Hell do they expect me to reply when they're staring at me like that?

"You can trust us, young lady!" The chicken says. Okay, so that one's a girl.

"Just give her a few moments, Chica. She needs to comprehend what's going on around her." And apparently these animatronics have an advanced vocabulary! 

"Can you talk already?" Bonnie asks. "We need to know why you can't remember us!" Rude.

"W-Why do you need me to remember you?" I ask quietly. 

The four of them look at each other. "Because you're one of the kids who escaped," The bear says. "And we want to know why you ever came back." Okay, what is he even talking about? The people here are so vague.

"Kid who escaped what?" I ask, which will probably get me nowhere. 

"The murder," Foxy finally pipes in. "Years ago, kids were murdered in one of our locations, and their souls haunted our animatronic suits." Then why the heck are they not haunting them right now?

"Of course we got remodeled, but the souls still remained with us," Chica says.

"I don't understand how she can't remember us." Bonnie mutters. I don't know, but maybe there's a block in my mind preventing me from actually remembering anything!

"I was yer best friend, lass..." Foxy says, his eyes filling with sadness. Now I feel bad!

"I'm so sorry if I don't remember..." My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I take it out and read it.

"I told you not to go," It says. "Now you'll pay the price." I furrow my eyebrows as I put my phone back into my pocket. I look back up at the animatronics to see that they're eyes are black with white pupils.

"A-are you alright?" I ask quietly, scanning over all of them. I slowly start standing up and backing away. The four animatronics do the same. Is this what Phone Guy meant by "quirky at night?"

I start running back towards Mike's office, and hopefully his shift is almost over. "Close the doors!" I yell at him.

"I can't!" He yells back. "I'm on two percent power!"   
"How!?" I scream, smashing the left door button, and the right one just in case.

"I got bored and started messing around with the doors!"  
"Mike, you idiot! What time is it?" I ask as one of the animatronics pound on the door. 

"U-uh..." Mike gasps. "It's six! We made it!" He jumps out of his chair and gives me a high-five. I open the doors to see that all of the animatronics left, and hopefully went back to their rightful places.

"Good," I say. "I have to get ready for school anyways." As Mike and I are walking out of the building and into the warm morning air, I have the urge to ask him a question. "Can I come back with you again tonight?"  
"Why would you want to do that?" He asks. "Didn't you almost die?"

"No, but you did."

"What? No, I was just trying to see what you would do if I was actually in a situation like that." Mike lies.

"Really? So, the screaming wasn't actually real?" Mike blushes in embarrassment and stops talking.

So, that was an interesting first night, especially the parts when the animatronics were asking me if I remember something that I obviously don't!

 

~Who do you think is texting Courtney?~


	4. In The End

"Are you sure you don't want me to take you to the bus stop?" Mike asks as I put my signature gray hoodie over my white tank-top.

"Why would you need to do that?" I reply. "You live literally down the street from it."

"I don't know, I just thought that you needed someone to talk to while you're down there."  
"Mike, I'll be fine. I have to go." I say, taking my black messenger bag from the coffee table. "I'll see you when I get back, okay?"

Mike sighs. "I still don't understand how you can stay up all night and still have the energy to go to school."  
"I don't know either! It's like all of the coffee I consumed in the past just decided to kick in!" I say, heading toward the door and opening it. I walk outside, close it again, and start walking down the street. As usual, I'm the first one at the bus stop, so I sit on the curb and start listening to my music. I keep forgetting to take shuffle off, but today it's Black Veil Brides's "In The End." 

"In the end, as my soul's laid to rest, what is left of my body? Or am I just, a shell? And I have fought, and with flesh and blood I commanded an army. Through it all, I have given my heart for a moment of glory." Over these past few days, I've had the habit of lip-syncing to my songs.

Finally, more people start arriving, but then someone I recognize arrives. It's the teenager with blonde hair and chestnut eyes! I've never seen him ride my bus, though... He must be new here? He starts walking over to me.

"Hey," He says in a quiet voice, his blonde hair getting into his eyes. "Do you know when the bus arrives? I'm just afraid that I'm too late for mine. I ride bus 845. Did it already leave?"

"N-no..." I reply quietly. "I-It'll be here soon, though."

The boy smiles a bit. "Thanks. My name is Jeremy. What's yours?"  
Isn't he not supposed to be talking to me? Isn't there some sort of rule where high schoolers and middle schoolers are supposed to stay away from each other? "I-I'm Courtney..." I say. Jeremy smiles, nods, and walks away. I know I may not have any friends, and I desperately want some, but seriously, why does friendship have to be so hard to make?

Finally, my bus arrives, and I move my feet in fear that the bus driver is going to run over them. I know, weird fear. I quickly stand up, and as usual, I'm the first one onto the bus, which means first dibs! I make my way to Friday's seat, seat 18 if any of you have forgotten, and clutch my backpack in my lap. Jeremy is on the bus second, and I notice him glance at my seat as if he wanted to sit there. But, he shakes his head and moves on. Alena glances at me the way that Jeremy did, but sits in seat 20, the seat behind me. I start listening to my songs again.

When we finally get to the school, everyone stands up and starts pushing each other to get off of the bus. Alena stands back to let me off, and I mouth to her a "Thank you." One of the people who are quick to bully me push me into a seat so that they can get off of the bus, which means I have to wait until everyone's off. I finally jump off of the bus and run into the building and to my locker.

"Hey boy hair!" A familiar female voice says. And, this voice belongs to the one and only Aviana Vaughn, my horrible ex-best friend. I stay quiet as I put my backpack into my locker and take my gym uniform out for 1st period. "Still ignoring me?" She asks. "I don't think that's going to help you much. Maybe I'll just pester you a bit!"

Be the bigger person about this. My mind is telling me. "Why do you always wear that hoodie?" Aviana asks. "Still self-harming? You know that's stupid, right? Of course it's not my fault, and you're just doing it for the attention."

"Can you please shut up?" I quietly ask, standing up from my locker and turning around to face her.

"What did you just say to me?" Aviana says in a sassy voice, flipping her straight, light blonde hair. Her emerald green eyes are looking intense.

"I-I..."

"That's what I thought!" She says, smirking and turning around. The click-clack of her heels are annoying as Hell, and I don't understand why a twelve year old is wearing them! As she walks away, the bell rings, and everyone that was in the cafeteria and outside start rushing up the stairs. I quickly walk to my homeroom and sit down in my seat in the front row.

~Time Skip~

It's finally gym class, and today we're playing capture the flag out on the football field, which means that we have to choose partners. Joy. I already know that Ashtyn and Alena are definitely going to partner up together, so someone's going to have a group of three.

As I'm tying my black converse, I notice Alena walking towards me. "Hey," She says, nervously holding her hands behind her back. "Do you want to be my partner?" She asks. I look up at her in surprise. 

"A-are you doing this because o-of what happened between A-Aviana and I-I this morning?" I ask, my voice cracking for a good portion of the sentence. 

"No, it's not." Alena says awkwardly. "I know you never have a partner in gym class, so here I am!" She says, cracking a small smile. Okay, I'm not sure if this is some kind of prank that Alena and her group are trying to pull, but hey, at least I don't have to awkwardly stand around looking for a partner.

"Okay, thank you..." I say quietly, standing up. 

"Okay girls, we're going outside!" My gym teacher calls from her office. Everyone in my gym class is with their partner, either arm in arm or holding hands. Alena and I just walk together. When we get outside, we start running our lap around the football field.

"So," Alena says. "What kind of bands do you like?" She asks in an awkward attempt to start a conversation. But, I appreciate the effort.

"Uhm...." I say, starting to fasten my pace. "Mostly Fall Out Boy and Daughtry. I do like Ghost Town, Falling in Reverse, Black Veil Brides, and My Chemical Romance though." Alena's amber eyes light up.

"Really?" She asks, speeding up to catch up to me. "Dude, I love all of those bands! What's your favorite song from one of them?"  
I smile. "How can I choose?" I ask, looking at her. "My most favorite is Fall Out Boy's Just One Yesterday, but I do like Ghost Town's You're So Creepy, and Carnival. I also like Falling in Reverse's Just Like You."

"I am aware, that I am asshole!" Alena sings.

"I really don't care, about all of that though!" I chime in and start to laugh.

"I've got nothing to prove!" We sing together. "But honestly, I'm just like you!" We sing as we reach the finish line. Both of us are giggling and smiling at each other.

~ Time Skip~

As I'm about to get off of the bus, (Alena didn't sit with me for unknown reasons, even though we had a great time talking to each other during gym class, lunch, and social studies) I receive a text message from Mike.

"Head straight back to my house," It says. "I'm out buying you some junk food. Which one is your favorite, pizza or cheeseburgers?

I chuckle as I reply. "Mike, you're not my father. But, I like both. I'm food-sexual." As I'm halfway to Mike's house, I hear footsteps behind me. I whirl around to see that it's the three most popular boys in school. Tim Jennings, Max Smith, and Derrick Pixty, Derrick being their leader.

"Hey, wimpy legs!" Derrick yells, smirking at me. Tim seems awkward and oddly sad about this situation. Boys like these usually love to torment me! I stay quiet, and stand there, frozen. Derrick chuckles. "Aviana told me you'd be like this! Isn't it a little hot to be wearing that sweatshirt?" He asks.

"No," I say. I'll admit that I do get overheated when wearing my hoodie, but it's worth keeping on when you're as skinny as I am.

"Fine, then take it off!" Derrick says. "What do you think, Smith?" He asks Max, calling him by his last name.

"I think she should take it off! Every other girl is wearing short sleeved shirts. If she doesn't take it off, I think we should teach her a lesson. What do you think, Jennings?"

Tim stays quiet, his gunmetal blue eyes low and sad looking. "Yeah, sure..." He mumbles. Max smirks and cracks his knuckles.

I don't want to get hurt, so I quickly take my hoodie off, revealing my thin, white tank-top. I tie my hoodie around my waist. "A-are you happy now?" I ask, my voice cracking. I honestly feel very... Violated? About this situation.

"Great," Max says. "All you need to do is get rid of that boyish haircut and maybe one of us will find you attractive." The comment hurts me, but I just turn around and continue making my way to Mike's house.

When I get to his house, I realize that I don't have a house key to get in, but Mike apparently left the door unlocked for me! I open the door, and Mike's still not home yet, even though I was outside dealing with the boys for about twenty minutes.

I set my backpack on the coffee table and walk to the guest room that Mike set up for me. I notice myself walking by in the mirror. 

I have the same almond honey brown eyes, short dark brown hair, and skinny body that I've had since forever. Seeing my appearance now just makes me want to cry. My gray hoodie is messily wrapped around my waist, and it's starting to fall off. I have scars on my arms and wrists that I never, EVER, like to talk about.

My eyes swell up with tears, but I refuse to let them fall. Not this time. I think that it's time to improve myself! First things first, I'm not going to wear this hoodie unless it's cold outside. I have many other shirts, (most of them being plaid) and I want to wear them! Next, I'm going to start growing out my hair. I love it being long, and this whole "short hair" thing isn't me.

Mike finally comes home as I change into a dark red plaid shirt. "I didn't know which to buy, so I bought both!" He calls from the kitchen. I run into the kitchen to see what he bought at the store. "Where's your hoodie?" He asks.

"I took it off," I simply say. "Now, what did you buy?"


	5. Wake Me Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How can he not imply that we're in danger?" I ask.  
> "I don't know, but apparently Foxy is going to be getting more active tonight. We better be on the lookout."

"I can't understand why you changed your attitude so quickly," Mike says as the two of us are walking to Freddy Fazbear's. I shrug. I still haven't told him what happened with the boys, and I don't think I want to, because I barely know Mike, and he's almost died because he wouldn't close the door when I told him to. As soon as we get into the office, the phone starts ringing. "Let's see what bad advice this guy has for us tonight..." Mike mutters.  
"Uhh, Hello? Hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, uh, congrats! I-I won't talk quite as long this time since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses. Uhh, it might be a good idea to peek at those cameras while I talk just to make sure everyone's in their proper place. You know..."  
"Gets more active as the week progresses?" I repeat. "Mike almost died last night, and then I almost died."  
"Uh... Interestingly enough, Freddy himself doesn't come off stage very often. I heard he becomes a lot more active in the dark though, so, hey, I guess that's one more reason not to run out of power, right? I-I also want to emphasize the importance of using your door lights. There are blind spots in your camera views, and those blind spots happen to be right outside of your doors. So if-if you can’t find something, or someone, on your cameras, be sure to check the door lights. Uh, you might only have a few seconds to react... Uh, not that you would be in any danger, of course. I'm not implying that. Also, check on the curtain in Pirate Cove from time to time. The character in there seems unique in that he becomes more active if the cameras remain off for long periods of time. I guess he doesn't like being watched. I don't know. Anyway, I'm sure you have everything under control! Uh, talk to you soon."  
"How can he not imply that we're in danger?" I ask.  
"I don't know, but apparently Foxy is going to be getting more active tonight. We better be on the lookout."  
"You better be on the lookout," I correct. "You're the one holding the tablet, therefore you have to lookout for the animatronics."  
Mike sighs. "How did you get from shy and afraid to talk to me to sassing me?"  
I shrug. "I guess it's a gift."  
Two hours have passed, and the only animatronics that have moved are Bonnie and Chica, but they seem more... Dead, than they were when they wanted to "talk" to me, but then tried to murder me. Foxy hasn't moved around in Pirate Cove yet, but I guess that's a good thing. He says he remembers me, but that's not possible. I never went to this place. "I need you to do me a favor, Mike."  
"What's that?"  
"Last night, the animatronics mentioned that there were murders here, and that apparently I escaped. Do you know anything about that?"  
Mike looks genuinely confused. "Uh... What? I don't remember anything about that. Are you sure they're not just telling you things?"  
I sigh and shrug. "I'm not really sure who to believe," I admit.  
"Believing your own kind would probably be the better idea..." Mike mutters.  
"I can't believe either of you because I barely know you, and I barely know them AND they're animatronics!" I say loudly. Mike shushes me. I groan and take my place on the floor, and tonight I don't have my phone with me, which means I'm stuck sitting in silence with Mike.  
We sit in silence for a long time, and it's actually awkward. "Do you really believe what they're telling you?" Mike suddenly asks.  
"I told you, I don't know!"  
"Do you want to talk to them again?" Mike questions, completely changing the subject.  
I actually have to think about this question. Do I want them to try to kill me again? Definitely not. But, do I want to talk to them again and get some answers? Yeah, I do. But what would Mike say if I told him?  
"Yeah," I simply say. "I need some answers."  
Mike frowns, and doesn't say anything. "There's something wrong..." He mutters. "Bonnie and Chica haven't moved whatsoever, and Foxy hasn't come out of Pirate Cove." All of a sudden, the lights dim, and then go bright again.  
"Maybe it's just a power surge." I suggest.  
"Maybe..." The brights keep dimming, and it gets darker each time. The music that was playing has completely stopped, and everything in the pizzeria is quiet.  
"This doesn't sound good, Mike... I'm going to check on the animatronics."  
"What!? I know I'm just a nerd taking care of you, but I'm not letting you do that! Your parents would kill me!"  
"You're not my dad, Mike!" I scowl at him. "I'm just checking to see if they powered off, anyways." He doesn't say anything, just frowns and nods. I sigh. "Thank you."  
I nervously step out into the hallway, surprised that none of the animatronics have come to drag me by the wrist. I don't exactly remember where Bonnie and Chica are, but Pirate Cove is just down the hall. "You can do this, Berrios." I mutter to myself. I quietly walk down the hall, nervously pulling the sleeves of my plaid shirt up to my elbows. I'm just now realizing how cold it is in here!  
I stand outside of Pirate Cove, wondering if Foxy would kill me if I open the closed curtains. I carefully open them, but Foxy doesn't do anything. He's just... Standing there. Lifeless. This is weird.  
"Foxy...?" I question. He doesn't reply. He's standing on a stage, so I take a giant step to get on top of it. Foxy and I are about the same height, which is odd because the rest of the animatronics are about seven feet. Him and I don't have much of a height difference, but I know in a couple years I'm going to be taller than him! "Are you okay?" I ask. "None of you are moving or talking, so I got worried." He still doesn't say anything.  
I hear the power click off. Everything in the building goes silent, and dark. I jump in surprise, and I almost land on Foxy. He finally starts moving though, and he looks at me as if he doesn't know who I am.  
"He-he's h-here..." He stutters, his voice somewhat going to static. "I know he's here lad," He replies to himself. "What can we do?" "W-we can't l-let he-er go wi-with him here." "I know we can't!" He continues talking to himself, while I stare at him in concern. "Should we keep her here?" He asks. He continues to stare at me as well, as if he's analyzing me. "Protect h-her, Foxy.  
Everything continues to be silent as Foxy closes the curtains to Pirate Cove. "What are you doing?" I ask. "I have to go! I can't be here!"  
"This is for yer safety, lass. An evil spirit is here, and we know exactly who is next target is." I don't reply, because I'm trying to guess who this guy's "next target" is. I wonder what that even means. "I care about ye too much to let him hurt ye," Foxy continues on.  
My heart stops when he says he cares about me. Maybe he really did know me.  
"Just stay here, and ye'll be safe. I won't let him hurt ye. I promise."  
Soon, everything is completely quiet. And then I hear footsteps coming down the hallway, from the direction of the Dining Area, so I know it's not Mike. It's also the sound of shoes, and not metal. I freeze in fear. Who is it?  
Foxy protectively steps in front of me as the footsteps stop outside of Pirate Cove. I start to panic. I can't breathe. Someone grabs a hold of the curtains, as if they're about to open. I'm afraid, but I know Foxy isn't. He's standing, and waiting for the right moment to attack. I quickly grab his hand out of fear, and he holds me closer to him.  
The person lets go of the curtains, and the footsteps go down the hallway to Mike's office.  
"Who the Hell are you!?" I hear Mike shout. "Where's my kid!?"  
"Don't play dumb with me, Schmidt. You know exactly who I am." The voice is a male, and it's a really deep voice.  
Everything continues to be silent and dark. "Vincent?" Mike questions. "What do you want from me?"  
This "Vincent" guy chuckles. "It would be nice to have a "how are you," Mike. But, aside from that, I know you have her here. Where is she?" My breath catches in my throat. Is he talking about me? Oh God, I hope Mike doesn't blow my cover!  
"Who are you talking about?"  
"Don't play stupid, Mike. You know exactly who I'm talking about. Now, where is she?"  
"She-she's in Pirate Cove, with Foxy."  
GOD FUCKING DAMMIT, MIKE!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM NOT USING REBORNICA'S "VINCENT." I am using my own version of him, so please don't say that I am using their version.


End file.
